Hosiery



April 5, 1955 G. FRIEDLANDER HOSIERY Filed NOV. 4, 1952 LY, EAI TOR.

.JT ORNEY United States Patent HOSIERY Application November 4, 1952, Serial No. 318,619 3 Claims. (Cl. 66-187) This invention relates to hosiery and more particularly to means by which certain portions of a stocking can be made exceptionally elastic and extensible while being highly resistant to friction and wear.

It is an object of the invention to provide a stocking with a heel, toe and sole, or one or more of these parts, composed of a highly elastic and extensible threat thereby enabling these portions of the stocking to expand or stretch to a very substantial extent so that a stocking of a given size will be readily extensible to enable it to smoothly and snugly fit feet of various sizes.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a stocking with certain portions composed of a highly elastic thread which will enable these portions of the stocking to so expand under foot pressure as to permit the stocking to readily conform to foot irregularities; to thus provide more perfect fit, with a resultant increase in wearing comfort.

By the use of a stocking constructed in accordance with the present invention, wherein a very marked degree of expansibility is provided in certain given areas of the stocking, the tension often imposed upon the upper part of the foot by stockings of conventional construction is materially decreased; the seam extending along the back of the stocking is maintained straight and pressure on parts of the foot by the wearing of a stocking too small is obviated since the great expansibility of parts of my improved stocking prevents such pressure.

More particularly, the present invention contemplates the provision of a stocking, knitted in the conventional manner by hosiery machines of a known type, and which stocking may be of the well-known split-foot construction, but shall be provided in certain well-defined areas, such as in the heel and/or toe, and possibly in the sole portion of the stocking, with thread having extraordinary elasticity as well as possessing a remarkable resistance to friction and wear. As a result, the above-mentioned portions of the stocking, and possibly other areas thereof which might be composed of the thread above mentioned, can stretch, distort to fit the foot and generally result in comfort and ease of wear upon feet of different shapes and sizes despite the fact that hosiery of this construction need be made in only one or two sizes.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein a stocking made according to the present invention is more or less diagrammatically illustrated, the figure shown is a side elevation of the foot and a part of the leg of a stocking incorporating the present invention.

In the drawing 1 indicates the body or leg portion of the stocking which may be produced in any of the known styles on conventional full-fashioned or other types of hosiery knitting machines, and is provided at the rear with the conventional back seam 6. The leg portion 1 of the stocking may be composed of thread of conventional characteristics, and hence may be silk thread, nylon thread or other artificial fibre. The lower portion of the stocking, consisting of the toe portion 2, sole portion 3 and heel portion 4, is preferably knitted in the conventional manner and joined to the leg portion and foot top 5 in the known way. The feature of the present invention resides in the employment in the parts 2, 3 and 4 of the stocking, or either of them, of a thread of unusual elasticity, strength and resistance to wear.

The thread employed in the fabrication of the toe 2, sole 3 and heel part 4 of the stocking may consist of a nylon or superpolyamidic yarn which has been so treated as to give it a very soft feel, an attractive appearance, a

high heat insulating capacity and an extremely high, stable and uniform elasticity. A thread of this character is shown and described in the United States patent to Billion, No. 2,564,245, dated August 14, 1951.

A thread constructed as described in said patent results in a nylon thread of extreme strength, without being hard or firm. It is soft to the touch, extremely expansible and when incorporated in those parts of a stocking which are subjected to pressure and distension, and wherein elasticity and expansibility is required, it will readily permit the stocking to adapt itself to the feet of various sizes without the imposition of strain on the stocking or causing dlscomfort to the wearer, such as occurs when an ordinary stocking of too small size is worn.

I have herein suggested that the elastic thread above described shall be incorporated in certain parts of the stocking, namely, in the toe, the sole and heel. However, it will be apparent that this thread need not necessarily be incorporated in all of the parts above described, but under certain conditions, it might be used to form the heel or the toe or perhaps other parts of the stocking to meet different requirements. In the knitting of the stocking, conventional stocking manufacturing methods need not be departed from, since the portions of the stocking formed by the thread above described can be produced by the known and conventional stocking production common in this art. In view of the extraordinary elasticity of a thread of the character herein described, it is found that a stocking made in accordance with the present invention will possess great expansibility both laterally and longitudinally of the foot of the stocking. Since a stocking made in a given size will have a foot expansion suflicient to enable it to fit four or five different foot sizes, it is obvious that it will greatly simplify the problems of the retail storekeeper since the large number of different sizes of hosiery need not be carried. Moreover, while the stocking is in place upon the foot, the elasticity of the parts of the stocking herein described, enables the foot portion of the stocking to provide a wrinkle-free fit, and aid materially in keeping the rear seam straight on the leg.

Having described one embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that the same is not to be restricted thereto, but is broad enough to cover all structures coming within the scope of the annexed claims.

What I claim is:

1. A stocking having a leg portion, a toe, a heel, and a sole portion, the toe, heel and sole portion being composed of a nylon thread which had been twisted, shrunk and heat-treated to give it extreme expansibility, whereby said toe, heel and sole portions of the stocking will have an expansibility far in excess of the expansibility of the leg portion of the stocking.

2. A stocking having a leg portion, a sole, heel and toe connected thereto, at least one of the three latter portions being composed of a twisted nylon thread of extraordinary expansibility far in excess of the expansibility possessed by the thread forming the leg portion of the stocking.

3. A stocking having a leg portion, a toe portion formed thereon, said toe portion being composed of a thread of different characteristics than that which forms the leg of the stocking, said thread being a twisted nylon thread treated in a manner to enable it to be highly expansible and allow extraordinary stretch in said toe portion of the stocking.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,229,790 Beuter et al Jan. 28, 1941 2,251,268 Clawson Aug. 5, 1941 2,563,082 Thompson Aug. 7, 1951 2,564,245 Billion Aug. 14, 1951 2,584,944 Tilles Feb. 5, 1952 2,641,914 Neumager June 16, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 124,713 Australia July 10, 1947 

